British Prime Minister Theresa May has survived an attempted party-room coup by hard-line Brexiteers, winning a vote of no-confidence.

But 117 of her 317 Conservative MPs voted against her, further undermining the embattled PM’s authority.

“The result of the ballot held this evening is that the parliamentary party does have confidence in Theresa May as leader of the Conservative Party,” said the count official, MP Graham Brady.

The result, announced after a secret ballot conducted in a parliamentary committee room, was met with huge cheers from Ms May’s supporters, while the pound rose.

In a statement shortly afterwards, Ms May acknowledged a “significant” number of colleagues had voted against her but said she wanted to “get on with the job of delivering Brexit”.

Leading rebel and coup agitator Jacob Rees-Mogg said he accepted the outcome but declared: “It’s a terrible result for the prime minister.’’

“Under all constitutional norms she should go and see the Queen and resign,’’ he told Sky.

Two hundred MPs voted for Ms May and the result theoretically secures her leadership for 12 months, as Conservative Party rules prevent another challenge with a year.

But the size of the vote against her shows how close the PM is to losing the support of her party.

British Prime Minister Theresa May returns to Downing Street after the confidence vote in her leadership. Picture: GettySource:Getty Images

And she is no more likely to get her stalled Brexit deal through the parliament, meaning the UK is still heading towards crashing out of the EU with no deal on March 29.

After Eurosceptic MPs succeeding in getting 48 of their colleagues — or 15 per cent of the party room — to make a written demand for a vote, Mrs May had made a last-ditch plea to avoid being dumped.

She said she would fight the challenge with “everything I have got’’ before going into the secret ballot and warning her colleagues a change in leadership would not leave enough time for a managed Brexit.

She promised MPs she would not attempt to take them to the next election in 2022, with some reportedly weeping as she told them she would retire gracefully after delivering a managed UK departure from the EU.

She said she had worked tirelessly to negotiate a Brexit deal and “stood ready to finish the job’.’

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at 10 Downing Street in central London as she waits for the result of a confidence vote by her Conservative party. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

“This government is a farce, the Tory party is in chaos, the prime minister is a disgrace,” Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford said during a pugnacious Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons.

Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the result showed that Ms May “has the support of her party.”

“This is a clear statement by the parliamentary party they want her to go forward, they want her to lead us through Brexit,” he told Sky.

Copies of the Evening Standard, London's daily free newspaper with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May on the front cover following the vote. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

Earlier, at least 175 Conservative Party politicians indicated support for Ms May as they headed into the vote, based on public statements in the media and social media.

Ms May refused to put an exact date on when she will stand down despite calls for her to go as soon as Britain formally leaves the EU.

Solicitor-General Robert Buckland said Ms May told politicians at a meeting that “it is not her intention to lead the party in the 2022 general election.”

Another Tory legislator, Nick Boles, tweeted: “She was unambiguous. She will not be leading the Conservative Party into the next election.”

In a defiant press conference outside 10 Downing Street, Ms May said changing Conservative leaders would “put our country’s future at risk and create uncertainty when we can least afford it” and could lead to Brexit being delayed or prevented.

“Weeks spent tearing ourselves apart will only create more division,” the PM said, warning that a leadership challenge threatens to hand power to Labour.

“I stand ready to finish the job.”

The PM said any new leader would have to extend the March 29 deadline for Britain’s exit from the European Union.

“A new leader wouldn’t be in place by the January 21 legal deadline, so a leadership election risks handing control of the Brexit negotiations to opposition MPs in parliament,” Ms May said.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove is accosted by a protester in a Father Christmas outfit after speaking to the media in Westminster. Picture: GettySource:Getty Images

“A new leader wouldn’t have time to renegotiate a withdrawal agreement and get the legislation through parliament by March 29, so one of their first acts would have to be extending or rescinding Article 50, delaying or even stopping Brexit when people want us to get on with it.”

The British PM has cancelled a planned trip to Dublin. Picture: GettySource:AFP

Ms May was due to fly to Dublin overnight to speak to Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

The besieged prime minister had returned from a whirlwind tour of The Hague, Berlin and Brussels where she had been begging for further concessions on her Brexit deal to rush straight to Number 10 as Tory Brexiteers rounded up the required 48 letters to force a ballot that could end the PM’s time as leader.

Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative Party 1922 Committee of MPs, collected the 48 letters necessary to trigger the vote. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

The man obliged to bring the vote forward, chair of the backbench 1922 committee Mr Brady, had requested a meeting with Ms May.

He said the threshold had been “exceeded”.

He later delivered the news to the cheering party room that Ms May would remain as leader.

British business figures expressed exasperation at the continuing political uncertainty.

“With news that the prime minister remains in place, business communities will hope that these political games can finally be put to bed,” said Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce.

“Westminster must now focus all its energy on urgently giving businesses clarity on the future and avoiding a messy or disorderly Brexit.”

Theresa May is welcomed by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker prior to their meeting as part of the Brexit negotiations.Source:AFP

‘DIFFICULT WOMAN’

Ms May took over after her predecessor David Cameron quit following the shock vote for Brexit in June 2016, winning by default after her rivals fought among themselves or withdrew.

She had campaigned to stay in the EU, but has repeatedly stressed the importance of implementing the verdict, rejecting calls for a rethink by those who believe it was a terrible mistake.

Yet her moves to minimise the economic damage of the break sparked anger among hard line Brexit supporters, who accuse her of undermining the whole project.

Despite the near constant criticism, including from inside her own government, May has kept at it and compares herself to her cricketing hero Geoffrey Boycott, who was a byword for doggedness as a batsman.

The vicar’s daughter has also gleefully seized on a put-down by a party elder that she was a “bloody difficult woman”.

May eschews gossip and networking, proving herself through hard work, spending six years in the tough job of interior minister before entering Downing Street.

But her reserved nature often makes for stilted relations with world leaders and voters, while her style of repeating phrases and avoiding direct questions earned her the media nickname “Maybot”.

Responding to Wednesday’s vote, Ms May once again fell back on trusted phrases, saying she was determined to “get on with the job”.